Dead Star
by froglady15
Summary: What happened between Bulma and Vegeta the night before the Androids appeared? One shot. Companion piece to the drabble one shot Starlight. Please read Starlight before reading this; it starts exactly where that one ended. Rated M for language. Full explanation inside.
_**D**_ _ **isclaimer:**_ I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

Hey guys! This is a one shot that is a part 2 to my Drabble fic one shot _Starlight._ It picks up EXACTLY where Starlight left off so I highly recommend you read that first. It's short. Not long winded like my usual stuff. Ha haa!

Anyway, I've had this done for a while now and decided it was time to share it. It takes place the night before/a few hours before the Androids. Just a scene in my head of what went down between our favourite couple…. Why did Bulma see it necessary to bring Trunks and herself all the way out to the middle of the battlefield?

Enjooy!

 _ **Dead Star**_

 _ **Shame on you for thinking You're an exception, we're all to blame crashing down to Earth, wasting and burning out yeah, fading like a dead star, whoa whoa. Harm is coming your way, yeah it's coming your way.**_

 _ **You used to be everything to me and now you're tired of fighting, tired of fighting, Fighting yourself.**_

 _ **Shame on you for thinking you're all alone. If you want I'll make you wish you were failing to impress. Why can't you sleep with someone who'll protect you, yeah harm is coming your way, yeah it's coming your way.**_

 _ **You used to be everything to me and now you're tired of fighting, tired of fighting, of fighting yourself, yourself, yourself**_

 _ **Fighting yourself, fighting yourself, fighting.**_

 _ **~Muse**_

"Because there is nothing to tell except for revenge, malice, death and destruction," he said almost bitterly. "It is what I do best, is it not?"

Bulma wasn't sure what to say or how to reply to him. While it didn't surprise her that he would resort to such a thing, it didn't mean she wanted to think that he was capable of it. The man she knew was so different from the man she _didn't_ know and it frightened her to think that they were the same man if she thought about it for too long.

Instead of shrinking back from him in fear or revulsion as he half expected her to, she stepped in front of him, cupped the side of his cheek and looked him in the eye. "Not anymore, Vegeta," she said with such conviction that he could almost believe it himself. "Not anymore."

"You told me not long before I left that all I do is destroy everything around me." He reminded her with a slight bitterness in his tone.

"Destroy it before it destroys you," she affirmed, reciting his words back to him.

She was taken back somewhat as he winced slightly at the memory of that conversation. Never would she have ever thought that she could say or do anything to make him feel remorse for his actions and she suddenly felt somewhat guilty for some of the things she had said to him in her hurt from his rejection when their affair had come to an end as abruptly as it had begun.

"That's right," he nodded, recovering quickly and stonily looking at her. " _Any_ form of weakness will get you killed."

Disappointed by his abrupt change in demeanour now, she simply nodded at him. Later on this morning the Androids would be appearing. She had faith that all the training everyone had done over the last three years would change the course of their future but she still did not want to spend this time fighting with him just on the off chance it didn't go well and this was their last interaction. "If you say so," she sighed.

Vegeta didn't reply, he simply looked at her with an expression she couldn't place.

"Why did you bring me up here, Vegeta?" she asked as the prolonged silence between them began to drag on to where she was beginning to feel awkward. Was he as worried about the potential outcome as she was? _No_ , she answered to herself. _Even if he was, he would never admit it to himself let alone to me._

He shrugged and turned away from her in answer. Truthfully he didn't even know why he had sought her out. Originally he had only dropped by to briefly look in on her and the boy before readying himself for battle. He had no intention of bringing her anywhere with him or even speaking with her before the battle commenced.

Bulma inwardly rolled her eyes at him. Once again, she was stuck trying to be a mind reader. Most of the time she was pretty good. With Vegeta however, she was never sure how to take him and his radical mood shifts.

Not wanting to start a fight with him or waste more time up here, she quickly thought of something to say to him. She needed to get back to Trunks soon. If he had something he wanted to say to her, he'd best do it before it got light out. "You said you ascended."

"Hmmm," he nodded once.

"So is it everything you ever _dreamed_ it would be?" she asked, trying not to sound like she was mocking him or being sarcastic. She was truly curious. Now that he had achieved his obsession would he be happy now or would it be the sort of thing that it was never enough?

He turned and smirked proudly at her. "It is _everything_ and more."

Bulma smiled at him. "Good. I'm glad," she said genuinely. She was truly happy for him. "Can I see it?" she asked a moment later. While whatever they'd shared was long since over and she had accepted that anything further between them was out of the question, she still cared deeply for him. She knew how much this ascension had meant to him and she suspected that he had no one else to share it with. _How sad,_ she mused to herself. _He achieved his greatest accomplishment and has no one to share it with. Well, his_ second _greatest accomplishment. Too bad he doesn't see it that way._

Vegeta thought for a moment before nodding once and effortlessly phased into the gold and teal transformation.

Bulma shielded her eyes and braced herself as she felt the force of the power that enveloped him as he transformed effortlessly into a golden god before her. For a brief moment it had felt like she had been standing in a wind tunnel and she panicked at the thought that she may be swept away and tumble down the mountain. She mentally shook herself. Vegeta wouldn't allow that, she confidently reassured herself. And as quickly as that gust of wind and power came, it was gone again and he stood there in front of her in his new state.

She wasn't sure what to do or how to react. Her mind told her to not be afraid of him but a part of her was overcome with fear. Not irrational fear but more of a respectful fear. If he was powerful before, he most definitely had crossed a whole new level. She couldn't sense ki to know how much of a leap he had made but she didn't need to. She could _feel_ it radiating off if him in waves. Despite trusting that he wouldn't intentionally hurt her, how could she not be a bit afraid of him as she felt the heat and an awesome invisible pulsing force coming off of him in waves? She shrugged off any hesitation and cautiously took two steps towards him, unsure.

The static and golden aura surrounding him made her question what would happen to her if she touched him. Would she be electrocuted?

As if sensing her indecision, he offered her his hand and any doubts she had were cast off in that second as she accepted it and let him draw her in close to him.

She gasped as she felt the aura surround her as she stood close to him; they were almost touching. Well, they were. He still was absent-mindedly holding onto her hand.

"So this is what a Super Saiyan looks like," she commented, looking at him, dying to touch him but unsure if she should or not. He was such an awe inspiring vision to behold, especially in the dark, that he almost looked like more like an apparition and she wanted to touch him if for no other reason than to confirm to herself that he was _real_ and she wasn't dreaming or hallucinating.

"You've seen Kakarott in his ascended state." He snorted.

"Ya, but that was only from a distance and that was also three years ago. I barely remember," she shrugged off. "Besides, I wanted to see _you_ in your ascended state. Not Goku."

He seemed satisfied with her answer, smirking down at her in response. "And? Do you like what you see?" he asked in a haughty tone.

She smiled at him. _Is he actually flirting with me?_ She wondered before nodding in reply. "You're magnificent," she said though felt like even saying that didn't do him justice.

Without further thought on whether or not it was okay, she let his hand go and placed it on his cheek as she looked into the bottomless teal eyes of his. _I think I just discovered the eighth wonder of the world,_ she thought as she wondered how it was physically possible for him to change his hair and eye colour so drastically? The scientist side of her mind trying to find an answer but could not.

She tenderly brushed her thumb along one of his blonde eyebrows as her other hand dove into his hair. She was pleasantly surprised that while it had changed in colour, it definitely had not changed in texture. _Surprising, yet not for some reason,_ she thought to herself. "You know a lot of girls pay small fortunes to get their hair this colour of blonde?" she commented playfully as she ran both her hands gently through his hair.

"Stupid humans," he countered in an amused tone. "Lacking in any form of superior genetics."

She chuckled at him, knowing that he was purposely baiting her. She brought her hands lightly down the side of his face and the sides of his neck, noticing that it was thicker and more muscular than what she recalled. Finally, her hands came to rest on his chest and she leaned into him fully, taking in the warmth coming off of him. "You're so warm," she murmured as she rested her head on his chest as well; her hands moving down to settle lightly on his waist unobtrusively.

"It takes a lot of energy to maintain this state," he replied, not completely comfortable with having her so close to him but not minding her close proximity either as he found himself hard pressed to push her away. Without thinking, he gently returned the embrace, mindful however to not crush her while in this state.

Bulma closed her eyes and basked once again in the feeling of being in his arms and being so close to him, hoping against all hope that it wouldn't be the last time even if they did defeat the Androids. She would love nothing more than to give him a chance to get to know his son and try to build some kind of meaningful relationship. Though she knew she was setting herself up to be hurt for even letting the thought cross her mind.

Not wanting to put him off or make him uncomfortable, she let him go and looked at him again for a moment before placing her hands up on either side of his face, standing on her tippy toes and planting a chaste kiss on his forehead. She didn't linger or try to encourage anything more from him; she merely kissed him lightly and stepped away from him, giving him a small smile.

Vegeta wasn't sure how to respond or reciprocate. It had not been his intention to rekindle their affair or give her false encouragement. Again, he was very unsure as to what his intentions had been and he certainly had not anticipated her waking up.

So he phased back into his natural state and did nothing.

"Wow! You emit so much heat and light you could probably provide power to a small village for an entire week with a single spark." she joked, trying to mask her disappointment that he had made no attempt to reciprocate her affections at all.

He snorted at her comment. "I will take you back."

Bulma nodded and readily let him scoop her up in his arms before he took off into the cool dusk; the sun was beginning to rise. She shivered a little from the cold but refrained from snuggling in close to him for fear of appearing needy in front of him.

He felt her shiver and boosted his energy somewhat in order to keep her warm. His mind was a torrent of thoughts and questions and emotions. In the months of their separation in which they had had little to no contact, he had thought that he had made himself completely immune to her. Apparently he was wrong. Here and now he found himself still to be very much attracted to her. Going to her balcony had been a gross tactical error on his part and he cursed his flawed thinking process.

He increased his speed, wanting to get back to Capsule Corporation as quickly as possible so that he had time to collect his thoughts and rid himself of anything that may distract him from the battle that would commence in just a couple of hours' time.

Vegeta landed on her balcony and placed her down gently before turning to leave. He was not going to stay and do anything stupid.

"Wait!" she called out to him, grabbing onto his forearm to stop him from leaving. "You don't have to go; your room is still available. That never changed."

"I am fine on my own," he brushed her off, quite literally, severing the physical contact.

"Alright," she shrugged, trying to feign indifference. "I just thought you might be more comfortable is all. Plus I wanted you to know that you still have a home here after the Andriods."

"Why?" he huffed bitterly. "So you can trick me into settling down with you and the brat?"

"No, Vegeta, that's not at all-"

"If you must know, I do not intend to reside on this miserable planet a moment longer than I have to once _I_ defeat the Androids and put that third class clown in his place once and for all. I will do no harm to this planet but I will wash my hands of it once I am gone. Take consolation that it is solely because of you and your family's contributions that I am choosing to leave this planet intact at all." he tonelessly informed her.

"Oh, how _kind_ and merciful of you, Vegeta," she said snidely. "You won't even take a moment to _see_ your son?"

He took a deep breath. She didn't know it, but he _had_ been to see his son. Several times since his return. He usually waited until he knew everyone was asleep and then venture into the nursery, which was conveniently located where her entertainment den had been previously. The woman almost always slept with her balcony doors open and if they weren't open they were never locked; something that picked at him for reasons he purposely refused to dwell on to figure out _why_ it bothered him. If she was so foolish as to leave herself so vulnerable to a house intruder, that was her business. Far be it for him to have an opinion on the matter. It worked to his advantage that she was so careless. Plus, no one knew of course, but he was never far from Capsule Corporation's grounds. If there happened to ever be a break in or home invasion he could be there in a matter of seconds if he needed to be... Not that he ever considered that possibility, he reminded himself. It was not his concern.

"He is _your_ son; not mine," he replied quietly.

Bulma wasn't sure what to say. Part of her was telling her to just let it be; if Vegeta had no interest in being a part of Trunks' life then that was his loss. However it hurt her to her very core that he refused to even see his son or acknowledge him. As she waged the inner battle on whether to fight with him or not, she decided not to. If anything happened to him during this battle, she did not want their last exchange of words to be hurtful or vindictive. So she decided to take a softer approach. "He _could_ be your son too, if you wanted him to be." she said quietly and cautiously, not wanting to set him off further.

"I have nothing to offer him," he sighed in finality and she wondered if he was trying to convince her or himself of that.

"If you say so," she replied. "But if at any time you change your mind be it you leave and decide to come back one day, you always have a place here and Trunks will grow up knowing who his father is whether you're here or not. I'm sure he will love to meet him one day."

Vegeta scowled at the ground at her words. _Why is she so insistent on this,_ he wondered. Nappa and Raditz probably had countless illegitimate half-Saiyan brats wondering around the universe wreaking god knew what kinds of havoc and they had never cared or wondered about them. What was one other half-breed bastard in the universe? "Hmmn," he grunted. "Do not be filling the boy's head with foolish tales of heroic princes and other such rubbish."

Bulma placed a hand on her mouth to hide a smile even though he was facing away from her and could not see her. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"Hmmn," he grunted again, indicating to her that the conversation was finished.

"Alright, well if you're sure you don't want to sleep in your old bed, I guess I'll see you in a few hours." she said to him with a yawn. Trunks wasn't awake yet so she planned on getting as much rest as possible before the long and potentially hard day ahead of her.

"What do you mean you'll see me _in a few hours_?" he asked, turning back around to face her.

"The boy from the future said the Androids would appear at 9:30 this morning," she shrugged. "Seeing as it's around 4:45, that's a little over four hours away and I figure everyone will probably meet up early just in case."

"Yes," he nodded. "In which I will arrive before anyone else does and end it all before it even begins so no one needs to bother themselves with showing up."

Bulma rolled his eyes. His ego had grown as much as his strength had it seemed. "Alright, I'll see _you_ then and I'll look forward to watching you kick some ass. Just remember, you're not the only one who has spent three years training super hard."

"What do you mean _you're_ looking forward to it?" he asked. "You are not seriously considering showing up, are you?"

"Uhm, of course I'm coming, Vegeta!" she snorted as though it was obvious.

"No, you are not," he insisted firmly.

"Think again, pal!" she argued, placing her hands on her hips. "I spent three years preparing for this and while no, I won't be fighting like you guys are, I still contributed towards it by putting up with your royal, insufferable, crabby ass for nearly _two_ of those three years! I've earned my right to be there."

"A battlefield place is no place for a woman," he growled.

"Oh, don't you give me any of that sexist macho bullshit, Vegeta!" she said, her voice beginning to rise out of anger. "I didn't see you complaining when it was a _woman_ who constantly repaired and upgraded your precious training facilities."

"Woman, what is it you think you are walking into?" he asked, beginning to lose his patience with her as well. "This is going to be a serious battle, not some tea party that brainless mother of yours likes to host!"

"I'm going to pretend like you didn't say that about my mother because for some reason she still really likes you despite your just up and leaving me knocked up like you did!"

"Hmmn, my apologies; perhaps she is not as brainless as I thought. She would at least have the good sense to stay far from where she does not belong!"

Bulma crossed her arms and huffed at him. "I'm not new to this, you know. I've been there before on the side lines in bad situations before, I can fend for myself, you know. I was there on Namek!"

"Ha! Where you stupidly swooned and mooned over Zarbon, one of the vilest creatures on the Frieza Force. It was a good thing I happened to defeat him when I did or who knows what would have become of you and then what happened to you? _Oh_ _right,_ you got yourself turned into a frog by that fool, Captain Ginyu," he drawled, trying to not laugh cruelly at her mishaps while on Namek. "Go on, tell me more. I actually cannot remember how you returned yourself back into your own body. You know what, I'll give you that one."

"You're such an asshole," she snarled at him between grit teeth. How _dare_ he mock her and use one of the most traumatic experiences of her life against her! She _still_ had nightmares about it on occasion and could not look at frogs without having a panic attack the bastard _knew_ that!

"That may be so, but you know I am right," he sighed, looking at her seriously again. "What possible business would you have being there?"

She fumbled for an explanation then. She didn't really have a reason. She was always part of the Z warriors group whenever anything serious went down. With the exception of when Nappa and Vegeta arrived, anyway. But she had congregated on Roshi's island with Chi-Chi and Puar and Ox King to watch the battle on tv. She had still felt like she had been a part of the group even though she wasn't physically there. "I-I really want to see you fight. I want to be a support to you."

"I have never needed a cheerleader to accompany me to the battle field and I most certainly do not need one now," he brushed her off dryly. "Give me a better reason."

Bulma scowled at him. "What does it matter, huh? We're not _together!_ No, you've made that abundantly clear, which is fine by me!" she ranted nastily at him. "You have no claim over me or say in anything I do! Apparently I'm just the girl you fucked senselessly for a few days while you were here living the lap of luxury. I'm just the girl you made a beautiful baby boy with that you couldn't give two shits about! That's all I am to you! So you don't get to tell me where I can and cannot go or where I do and do not belong. You lost that privilege when you boarded that ship once you learned that I was pregnant with your son, Vegeta."

Vegeta glared at her as he listened to her angry tirade. While he knew she was absolutely correct in saying that he had no claim on her and technically no right to demand she not come along to spectate, something in him was still very adamant that she not come. It was dangerous. She wouldn't be of any use on the battle field should he happen to run into trouble. There was absolutely no valid reason in his mind as to why she needed to be there.

"Look, I don't want to fight with you," she said, seemingly calmed down after her rant just moments ago. "I really want to see these androids. Gero was a highly respected scientist and I haven't seen him in years. I'm kind of curious as to what these things can do and I want to see if he's there." she explained truthfully. While it wasn't the main reason she was insisting she go, it was a reason.

"I also haven't seen everyone since that day Goku came back and that strange boy from the future destroyed Fireza," she also said. "It would be nice to see everyone again."

Vegeta shook his head. "Then have your mother plan a tea party. This is hopefully going to be a serious battle. I intend to finish it alone and I do not need you there distracting me with your presence and gossiping with those want to be warriors." There, he'd said it. He was half bordering on allowing it after her mentioning her curiosity over the androids. However if she was that curious about the androids, he could always bring her back whatever was left of one of them for her to dissect and do whatever she wanted to do with it.

 _Ahh, so that's it,_ she thought triumphantly at his admission. _He's worried about my safety. How sweet of him!_ "I get that, but I really want to be there. I want everyone to meet Trunks. No one even-"

"You cannot be serious," he cut her off, taking a deep breath and pinching the bridge of his nose. "A battlefield is _no_ place for a woman _and_ infant!"

"What difference does it make to you anyways?" she asked in a snarky tone. "I thought we meant nothing to you?"

Vegeta grit his teeth, not wanting to acknowledge not deny it. Truthfully he had no idea what they meant to him, if anything.

"I am asking you and the infant to stay here. Is that so much to ask?" he asked.

"Why?" she retorted stubbornly. "Give me one good reason and _maybe_ I'll stay."

"Because I _want_ you to," he said again.

"And I wanted you to stay here and not abandon me while I was pregnant," she shot back. "Yet you didn't even consider sticking around so...?"

Vegeta sighed in aggravation. Why couldn't she just listen to him for once? Furthermore what had he been thinking even considering taking her to his bed in the first place? She was a stubborn, argumentative shrew of a woman. "Do what you want then. See what I care," he said defeated. "You have such little regard for my wishes and your own sense of self preservation and that of the boy, what you do is of little concern to me."

Bulma stood there, unsure of how to respond to that.

"If you still intend to foolishly show up despite my expressed wishes that you do not, do not get in my way," he said cruelly. "I intend to finish this battle swiftly and efficiently. I will not have time to babysit and make sure you do not get you or the child killed in the crossfire."

"I wouldn't expect you to lift a finger anyway!" she snapped.

Vegeta smirked at her. "Then that is one thing we can both at least agree upon." Were his parting words as he blasted off into the sky, leaving her there on her own to reconsider her choice.

Yes, coming here had been a mistake. Of that he was sure. Now he was so angry and resentful towards her he needed to find a spot to do some deep meditation; he could not walk onto a battlefield with these thoughts distracting him!

 _What the fuck was I thinking coming to see her mere hours before battle?_ He raged at himself. _Of all the stupid things to do..._

Vegeta landed on a hill not far from where the androids were supposedly going to be appearing in a few hours. He sat down on the soft, cool grass and took a deep breath to sooth his anger. _It does not matter,_ he told himself. _She is right. I have no right to tell her what to do. If she is too foolish to not follow my wishes for the sake of her and the brat that is her business. Not mine. They mean nothing to me._

He told himself over and over again until he felt better.

-0-0-0-

Thanks for reading!


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